What I Need
by choir-freak
Summary: Miley's boyfriend broke up with her. Oliver just had the worst date ever. While talking about things, they realize something they never have before.


**What I Need**

I slammed the door behind me and paused to listen. Nothing in the house moved except for the clock that kept ticking away. Dad and Jackson were still at the baseball game.

Frankie had just broken up with me and I was ready to rant about how much guys suck. I snatched the phone from the coffee table and quickly punched in Lilly's number. It rang eight times before her voice mail answered. I hit the off button and threw the phone on the couch, walking to the kitchen. I opened the freezer door so hard it bounced back and hit my arm as I reached in to get the ice cream.

"Ouch, stupid door," I mumbled, pulling the ice cream out and shutting the freezer. Then I opened the dishwasher and pulled out a still warm spoon, scooping it into the chocolate ice cream and stuffing it into my mouth.

I jumped when the door flew open and Oliver walked in.

"Worst date _ever_."

"Bad date with Jessica?" I asked, turning to get another spoon out for him.

"Oh no," he said sarcastically, taking the offered spoon, "It was the greatest. The only thing that could have made it better would have been if she had pushed me into a pool of sharks."

"Well we can sulk together." He looked at me questioningly as he ate some ice cream. "Frankie broke up with me."

His face instantly turned sympathetic. "Sorry, Miley. Are you alright."

I smiled at him. "I'm actually not that upset. I'm just kind of mad. I'm surprised I didn't see it coming anyway. I mean, he's not exactly the kind of guy I could fall for."

Oliver nodded his agreement. "I am _so_ glad you realize that. I mean come on, that guy has no sense of humor."

"Yeah, I know. I need a guy who's funny."

"And I need a girl who can take a joke."

"Oh yeah, what happened with Jessie?" I asked.

"I called her Jessie," he said, smirking at me. I laughed. "That and every time I made a joke she smiled pityingly at me. It was really annoying. I told her about the time you, Lilly and I went to that Halloween party as the Powerpuff Girls, and she said it was really immature."

"_What?_" I asked in disbelief, "Who doesn't laugh about that? It was a great moment for us. Everyone at the party thought we were really funny."

"Actually," Oliver said, "I think they thought _I_ was funny. I was the one dressed up like Buttercup."

"Hey," I punched him in the arm, "It would have been creepy if it was just you."

He laughed, rubbing the spot on his arm where I hit him. "Yeah, alright, that's true."

I smiled at him. "There's something else I need: I guy who will admit when he's wrong. Frankie was always arguing and always had to be right about everything."

Oliver nodded. "And maybe you shouldn't date blondes anymore. It never seems to end well."

I rolled my eyes. "True."

"And I need a girl who knows me better than Jessica does. I also need someone who doesn't have the annoying habit of tapping the table every five minutes."

"Huh?"

Oliver tapped the counter five times with his left hand and then five times with his right. "Every five minutes. It was fine at first, but after thirty minutes, it gets really annoying."

I wrinkled my nose, my mouth too full of ice cream to say anything other than, "Ah woo shuck."

He nodded. "It _did_ suck."

I swallowed the ice cream and said, "Frankie could never tell what I was saying when I did that."

"How could he not? It's so obvious."

"That's what _I_ said," I told him, shaking my head. "And I would never be able to trust him with my secret. He's such a blabber mouth. He told me all of his friends' secrets."

Oliver looked suddenly alert. "Really? What's Ben Ward's most embarrassing moment?"

I glared at him.

He smiled. "Just kidding."

Silence fell between us as I pondered other things I would have to look for in a guy.

"He would also have to get along with my dad. Dad didn't really like Frankie."

"Jackson didn't either," Oliver added.

"Who _cares_ what he thinks?"

"Well it would be nice for your entire family to like the guy, wouldn't it?"

I nodded. "I guess so."

Then our eyes locked and I noticed something. A sense of humor, someone who could tell what I was saying when my mouth was full, can keep my secret, someone my family approved of, not blonde…

That described Oliver.

Oh boy.

Was he getting closer or was it just me?

No, no, I could see his brown eyes much easier than I ever had before. He was most definitely getting closer. I saw him glance down at my lips and I tensed, but couldn't seem to force myself to push him away or step away myself. In fact, I leaned closer too. His right hand moved from the counter top and he started running his hand up and down my arm, making goose bumps rise. My eyes closed as he closed the gap between us.

And then the door opened.

I jumped back and looked around. Lilly had just walked in and was now staring at us, wide-eyed.

My friends need to learn how to knock.

"Sorry," Lilly said, talking fast. "I just heard about you and Frankie. But of course you don't care about Frankie anymore. I mean, you care but you don't _care_." My face burned. "Was this why you two broke up?" She pointed at Oliver and me as I started to shake my head. "What am I saying? It doesn't even matter. Maybe I should just go? I'll come back later." She smiled mischievously at me. "And I want all the details later." Lilly started to turn to the door but then stopped and looked back at us with a disgusted look on her face. "Not _all_ the details. Oliver is like a brother, it would be kind of awkward for you to tell me about—"

"_Lilly_," I interrupted, wide-eyed.

"_Sorry_," she said as she practically ran out the door.

I didn't look at Oliver. I was too busy trying to stop the burning in my face. But the silence that had fallen was a bit unnerving and I couldn't tell what he was thinking so I looked at him. He was staring at his shoes, his face just as red as I imagined mine was.

He looked up at me and it was my turn to stare at my shoes.

"Awkward?" I asked.

"Just a bit."

Silence again.

Until Oliver started laughing.

I looked at him. He was doubled over, his face split into a wide smile as he gasped for breath from laughing so hard. I was going to ask what was so funny when I thought about the last five minutes. It was kind of funny.

I laughed too.

Oliver and I told the story many times to people. We thought it was funny.

We were the only ones.


End file.
